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In the previous issue of Aaron Writes, the importance of feedback was discussed. This issue will examine getting feedback from native and nonnative speakers. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
Assuming you are located in Japan, there probably are a limited number of native English speakers near you who you can ask to read your writing and give you feedback. If you are involved in English in Japan, you probably know other people like yourself with stronger abilities in English. The advantages are that you can easily locate them, and they will be able to read and understand your writing. They will be able to give you feedback on meaning and grammar. The value of their feedback will vary greatly due to their abilities and yours, but they can certainly provide valuable feedback. The possible disadvantage is that they will find problems that do not exist or miss problems that do exist.
Feedback from native speakers also has advantages and disadvantages. If your English is very good, there will be fewer disadvantages. The weaker your English is the greater the disadvantages become. If the person helping you is patient and kind, as many people are, the disadvantages are not a problem. If the person helping you is less than patient or less than kind, the disadvantages can become a problem. This is where toughness is an issue. If you meet people who are harsh in their criticism of your writing, you will need to learn to survive and continue writing.
The place to meet these people is on the Internet. Go to the English side of Google or Yahoo! and do a search for one or more of the following:
"writers group"
writers group
"writing group"
writing group
Two likely places that jump to the eye are Short Story Group at http://www.shortstorygroup.com/ and Aylad's Creative Writing Group for Writers around the World at http://www.publication.com/aylad/ Take a look at these places and try others. Try joining a group, figuring out how the group works, and submitting some of your writing for feedback. It will not be easy, but hard work will eventually pay off.
Another approach to getting feedback is to imagine yourself as having two distinct roles. One is as a writer; the second is as an editor. As a writer - and anyone who writes is a writer, you write your letter, your article, your paper. You put your writing aside for two to three days. While you might not be thinking consciously about your writing, some of your brain cells are most likely thinking about your writing. When you look at your writing again, you will probably have a fresh idea or two about the writing.
After two or three days, you look at the writing again. However this time, your task is to function as the editor rather than the writer. Your job is to read critically in order to improve the writing. A critical editor may look at grammar, word choice, ideas, descriptions, or paragraphs. If you are able to separate yourself from the person who wrote the article, you will probably be able to do a better job of editing the paper.
While the idea of being a writer and two or three days later, an editor might strike you as strange, functioning as two separate people is another option to improve both your writing and your editing skills. If you try this approach several times, you will get better at being an editor.
The advantages of editing are that it is a skill, and you will improve as you work at it. The disadvantages are that you will probably not be able to edit your writing as much another good English speaker could do.
Good luck!
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